Suspect in accident that injured IMPD officer sentenced to three years in prison

10:18 PM,
Feb. 20, 2013

IMPD Officer Santos Cortez

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Santos Cortez understands that under the law, the drunk driver who plowed into his squad car last summer could be sentenced to only three years in prison.

But in his heart, the five-year Indianapolis metropolitan police officer sure would have liked to have seen that man stay in prison until Cortez could walk again.

Jerrel Watkins, 27, was sentenced Wednesday to 1,095 days in prison for the June 11, 2012, crash on the city's Westside. He pleaded guilty to two counts of operating a vehicle while intoxicated and one count of failing to stop after an accident. ...